The Giants got discouraging news on Trevor McDonald’s elbow Friday, with manager Tony Vitello saying the right-hander has been diagnosed with a moderate UCL sprain.
McDonald will seek a second opinion this weekend before the club settles on a treatment plan. He was already placed on the 15-day injured list earlier in the week, and Vitello suggested he’s unlikely to pitch again this season. Surgery remains a question mark, but if the ligament damage is serious enough to require it, McDonald could be looking at most or all of 2027 lost as well.
It’s a tough turn for a 25-year-old who finally got extended run in the majors this year. McDonald had only brief big league appearances in 2024 and 2025, but this season he held a rotation job from early May onward.
He made 14 starts and logged 70 1/3 innings, showing flashes early before fading over the last six weeks. His line now sits at a 5.12 ERA, though he has kept the ball on the ground at a strong 55.2% rate while striking out hitters at an 18.4% clip.
His last outing came Monday. Tyler Mahle and Landen Roupp handled the rest of that series against the Royals, and after an off day Thursday, the Giants are set to open this weekend’s set against the Angels with Logan Webb and Robbie Ray taking the first two games. Sunday’s starter hasn’t been named yet, and the cleanest solution would be to shift Adrian Houser back out of the bullpen.
Vitello also delivered a bleak update on Harrison Bader, who has been sidelined since the end of May with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The outfielder has been shut down from baseball activities because of continued soreness. The Giants still hope to get him back before the season ends, but Vitello made clear that return is not coming anytime soon.
Bader is in the first year of a two-year, $20.5MM free-agent deal, and his season has been limited to 30 games with a .198 on-base percentage. A trade market was never really in play. For now, the Giants are simply hoping to get him back at some point in the final two months and carry a little momentum into the offseason.
McDonald, Bader and lefty reliever Matt Gage could all wind up on the 60-day injured list. The Giants already have two open spots on the 40-man roster, and they’re expected to move Luis Arraez, Ray, Mahle and possibly JT Brubaker within the next week and a half.
That should leave them with room to work the waiver wire for players who get squeezed off other rosters after the deadline. Carson Whisenhunt and Blade Tidwell are also in line for rotation looks once Ray and Mahle are dealt.
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For teams like San Francisco, that creates a familiar kind of dilemma: the upside is obvious, but the fit is not simple. Abrams has produced at a high level this season, yet evaluators remain split on whether he can hold down shortstop, and the defensive questions could shape how far interested clubs are willing to go if Washington decides the interest is real enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]